Big Blue Bulletin #11

Sea otter skills, kelp recovery, and a whole lot of heat

May 24, 2024

Welcome to the latest edition of the Big Blue Bulletin – a weekly roundup of marine conservation news and updates. Expect good news, bad news, and a cute creature in your inbox every Friday.

Let’s dive in 🐬

Apologies for not sharing more upbeat articles in this bulletin, it’s been a bad news week it would seem. Here’s hoping next week brings better tidings!

Ocean news

🗞️ Big news of the week -

🎣 Successful trial of sinking fishing rope raises hope for cutting whale deaths

“The trial worked with creel fishers in Scotland to assess if the sinking rope, which reduces entanglements by whales, was practical for fishermen.”

🇯🇵 WiFi, drones and sharp blades on Japan's whaling mother ship

“In whale-motif jacket, shirt and tie plus a whale-shaped hat, Hideki Tokoro shows off Japan's new whaling "mother ship," the Kangei Maru — slicing blades, butchery deck, freezers and all.”

🇮🇩 Indonesian activist freed in hate speech case after flagging illegal shrimp farms

“Environmental activist Daniel Frits Maurits Tangkilisan has had his sentence overturned on appeal.”

🐋 ‘Free Bella’: campaigners fight to save lonely beluga whale from Seoul mall

“Five years after her last companion died and the aquarium’s owner pledged to free her, Bella still languishes in a tiny tank amid shops.”

🌱 Glimmers of hope for Sussex kelp recovery

“The Sussex Kelp Recovery Project has published a Progress and Impact report to celebrate three years of seabed protection in Sussex.”

🌊 Why the world's oceans are changing colour

“The balance of phytoplankton populations in the sea is shifting as a result of human-induced climate change, altering the oceans in profound ways.”

🇦🇶 Record low sea-ice levels around Antarctica ‘likely due to climate change’

“Antarctica’s vast expanse of sea ice regulates Earth’s temperature, as the white surface reflects the Sun’s heat back into the atmosphere.”

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland’s vulnerable marine life not properly protected, campaigners warn

“Scottish government accused of missing deadlines to take action on overfishing and effects of climate breakdown.”

🦈 Undercover in a shark fin trafficking ring: Interview with wildlife crime fighter Andrea Crosta

“Founder of Earth League International, he talks about the group’s new report on shark fin trafficking from Latin America to East Asia and the concept of “crime convergence.”

🐟 Report Details ‘Catastrophic Decline’ of Migratory Fish

“Populations of salmon, trout, eel, sturgeon, and other migrating freshwater fish have shrunk by 81 percent on average since 1970, a new report finds.”

🪧 Who are the real extremists? The people challenging injustices or those trying to shut down our rights?

“Look at a new report proposing horrifying clampdowns on protest – and ask where the threat to our society truly lies.”

🐢 In Bangladesh, olive ridley turtles break 4-year record with 53% increase in eggs

“The olive ridley’s main nesting ground is different islands of the country’s southeastern district, Cox’s Bazar, in the Bay of Bengal.”

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Fish deaths in England’s rivers rise tenfold in four years

“More than 216,000 fish died in 2022-2023, when England recorded a 54% increase in sewage spills.”

🐦 Plastics in birds’ stomachs release toxic chemicals, study suggests

“The researchers are just finishing the six-month study of deliberately degrading plastic in artificial seawater.”

🐋 Grey whales struggle as purple sea urchins destroy kelp forests

“A recent study from Oregon State University revealed how a seemingly isolated event — a boom in purple sea urchin populations — can have cascading effects reaching as far as the mighty grey whale in kelp forests.”

☣️ Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ ubiquitous in Great Lakes basin, study finds

“PFAS chemicals present in air, rain, atmosphere and water in basin, which holds nearly 95% of US freshwater.”

🛳️ Investigation begins after ship arrives at harbour with whale corpse across bow

“The arrival of a cruise ship in New York led to an investigation after authorities spotted an endangered whale across its bow.”

🐢 Thailand frees endangered baby turtles hoping they return in 20 years to reproduce

“The Pacific Ocean has fewer than 2,300 adult leatherback females left.”

🛰️ Alaska's pristine rivers are turning a rusty orange even when seen from space

“Permafrost thawing in the summer is now exposing minerals to the surface, releasing metals and acid.”

🌳 Half of world's mangroves under threat, says conservation group

“Half of the world's mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse as a result of human activity, rising sea levels and extreme weather.”

🏛️ Island states win historic climate case in world oceans court

“World court rules countries must protect oceans by reducing fossil fuel emissions as island states fight for survival.”

🌊 ‘The fear has properly set in’: how it feels to watch my home town disappear into the sea

“Inverbervie, on the north-east coast of Scotland, faces an existential threat, with storms carving away metres of shoreline. Can anything be done to save what is left?”

🧊 Isle of Wight-size iceberg breaks from Antarctica

“Another big iceberg has broken away from an area of the Antarctic that hosts the UK's Halley research station.”

🔥 'Boiling not warming': Marine life suffers as Thai sea temperatures hit record

“Aquatic life from coral reefs to fish in the Thailand's eastern gulf coast is suffering as sea surface temperatures hit record highs this month amid a regional heatwave.”

💡 Rare and ‘unusual’ deep-sea anglerfish washes up on beach for first time ever

“Species, with only a few dozen seen by humans since first discovered, usually lives in darkness up to 3,300ft below sea level.”

🦦 When sea otters lose their favourite foods, they can use tools to go after new ones

“In parts of the ocean where sea otters face stark competition for their favourite kinds of food, some otters are getting by with the help of tools — like rocks and even glass bottles.”

🥤 Microplastics found in every human testicle in study